There is plenty of economic and political traction as we head into the 30th year of diplomatic relations between India and Belarus. Coinciding with Belarus’ National Day, we’ve come up with a special edition, dedicating close to half our magazine on this eastern European nation. Nearly two-fifths of Belarus is forested. This picturesque, landlocked country has numerous streams and over 10,000 lakes. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest.

Engaging with the India Empire magazine, H.E. Mr. Andrei Rzheussky, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Belarus to India, says that the last three decades have been marked by a great sense of mutual understanding, increasing confidence, trust, and credibility in relations between the two nations. During this period the President of Belarus H.E. Aleksandr Lukashenko has visited India thrice (1997, 2007 and 2017). As President of India, H.E. Pranab Mukherjee visited Belarus in 2015. In September 2019, on the sidelines of the 74th session of the UN General Assembly in New York, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus H.E. Mr. Vladimir Makei met with Minister of External Affairs of India H.E. Dr. S. Jaishankar. In May 2016 a Belarusian parliamentary delegation headed by the Chairman of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of Belarus visited India. It was followed in June 2018 by a return visit by the Speaker of the Lok Sabha in Indian Parliament. The heads of the Belarusian and Indian parliamentary delegations met during the 139th IPU Assembly in Geneva in October 2018. On October 16, 2018, the 6th round of political consultations at the level of the deputies of Foreign Ministers of Belarus and India were held in New Delhi. While the Honorary Consulate of Belarus in Kolkata has been functional since 2002, the Honorary Consulate of the Republic of Belarus in Mumbai was opened in 2018.